Tow Vehicle for 3500 lb gvwr travel trailer

For two years I pulled a 3500 lb GVWR trailer with a Honda Pilot, did OK on flat or rolling terrain, not so great in the mountains. Last February I purchased a dedicated tow vehicle, a new 2013 Ford 4WD Expedition XLT with the HD Tow Package for $35K. A world of difference between the two--the Expedition just handles it with no fuss, and better gas mileage to boot! 11.5 mpg with the Expy vs. 10 mpg with the Pilot.

My recommendation: get the 2015 Ford Expedition with the EcoBoost engine due out in a few months or the 2014 Chevy Tahoe. Hands down, better than any mid-sized tow vehicle. Another good choice is the Dodge Durango with the Hemi.

Bruce

bgitler wrote:
I have been researching what amount of tv towing capacity would be safe to pull a KZ Sportsmen Classic 19BH Travel trailer (3500 gvwr).

http://www.kz-rv.com/sportsmen-classic/19BH.html

I have read about the importance of not paying attention to dry weight and the gvwr being a more important number. I also understand that the towing capacity includes the weight of the tt gvwr + car load (people, stuff...). My tv is going to be my everyday car, and one of the reasons I am looking at a smaller tt is because I would rather not purchase a Tahoe, Silverado, or other such vehicle if possible. Most of the vehicles I have been looking at have a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs. Should I be alright?

Thanks in advance!

Go with something unusual. More fun that way.

You need a 3/4 ton diesel!

My vote is Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel or Ford Explorer Sport/Flex 3.5L Ecoboost. Plenty of torque at comfortably cruising 2000rpm in those.

Another item to look at is the wind sail area of the TT. It is very often overlooked but will affect the performance of the vehicle. Some of the owners manuals mention it (in small print of course)

Take the manufacturers specified dry weight and add 1000 lbs. and then use that number to shop for a vehicle.

All three US manufacturers provide towing guides that you can download as PDF files and provide towing specifications for each model vehicle and this includes differences based on the engine and transmission and gears provided.

If the dry weight is 3500 lbs. and you add 1000 lbs. to get a 4500 lb. tow load I would then look for a vehicle with a 7500 lb. tow load. I would not want to be driving and towing a load that put the vehicle at 100% of its capacity on a regular basis or taking it long distances or going into mountainous areas with it.

For one thing I don't trust the manufacturers' ratings for anything other than trucks. Take a passenger car and a heavy tow load and you will have no reserve capacity or emergency braking and maneuvering or for acceleration and safely merging with trucks and other traffic.

I also have towed at 100% GCWR right accros the country with my previous F150. Right a cross the Rockies as well. I knew it was there, and had to put the hammer down on occasion to keep up with traffic, but it handled it fine. Most important thing is proper setup and weight distribution IMO.
As for towing that weight with a GM unibody SUV? My extensive fleet experience leads me to not trust GM. The latest recall-fest is just more of the same from the last 30 years.

I would tow that all day long with a Traverse with a tow package. It is very similar weights to mine, but actually looks to have much less tongue weight than I do, which is probably not a bad thing.

Towing up an over the Rockies might be a little power challenged, but just normal towing, on normal roads should be completely fine and safe IMO.

If you're within the towing capacity you don't need to worry about GCWR. They're different means to the same end.

Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) is the maximum weight that the tow vehicle, trailer, and occupants and cargo should not exceed. Roughly speaking, Curb Weight of Vehicle + Weight of Driver + Towing Capacity = GCWR.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I'm beginning to feel a little more educated. In regards to the GCWR. My understanding is that is the total amount of weight between the tt and tv. To determine GCWR do I add the tv GVWR + tt GVWR (6400 + 3500= 9900) or would I add the tv curb weight + tt dry weight 2623 (4646 + 2623= 7269?

Either way I'm not sure I understand how this number comes into play if the tt GVWR + tv loaded weight = about 1000 lbs below the towing capacity of the vehicle.

Thanks again!